Hungary isn’t afraid to go agains the etiquette by which Europe — as governed by the European Commission — abides.
In just the last year, Hungary has been repeatedly fined for not complying to European rules, and hasn’t been afraid to inspire disapproval with controversial moves such as attempting to outlaw Pride and remaining contracted to Russian gas amidst the Ukraine war.
Now, it has announced that it has withdrawn from the International Criminal Court.
Significantly, this happened a few hours after Benjamin Netanyahu paid Hungary a state visit, after Israel announces its intention to expand its Gaza offensive and establish a new military corridor.
The Israeli president has been under an ICC arrest warrant since November 2024 for “war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war between Israel and Hamas”.
But Orbán welcomed him with open arms, stating that the warrant bears no weight in his country.
Hungary is a founding member of the ICC, but now, Orbán says it has been reduced to a “political court”.
The Israeli office has also revealed that Netanyahu and Orbán had both spoken to Trump about the “next steps that can be taken on this issue”.
The USA is not part of the ICC, and do not recognize its jurisdiction. It has also condemned the ICC’s warrants for Netanyahu arrest.
On the other hand, the ICC has had jurisdiction over the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza since 2021.
The ICC has spoken up, saying that Hungary is still expected to cooperate until it leaves the treaty through official notification of the UN. Even then, its withdrawal will only be official one year later, according to the Rome Statute.
Netanyahu has visited the US since the warrant, but this is the first time since that he’s stepped foot on European soil.
He has called the ICC “the enemy of humanity”.
To be fair, ICC judges issued a warrant in the same ruling against Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. Hamas also rejected the allegations.
Israel claims Deif is dead.
Deadly Israeli strikes now continue across the Palestine, with over 50,000 Palestinians killed since 2023.
Meanwhile, Hungarians have been protesting repeatedly against their plummeting economy. Behind the curtain, Orbán makes industrial deals with the Chinese, mirroring American negotiations — as Trump and Orbán visit and support each other, sharing what many have called a slow and steady encroachment into autocracy.
